


The One That Got Away

by xanavici



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Alcohol, M/M, Pre-Canon, Reminiscing, implied r76, young mchanzo
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-12
Updated: 2017-02-14
Packaged: 2018-09-23 22:25:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,881
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9683081
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xanavici/pseuds/xanavici
Summary: Two men, on opposite sides of the world, recount their stories about the one that got away.





	1. Shot through the heart

“And when I woke up the next morning, she was gone.  The only she left behind was a lipstick kiss on my mirror.”

Everyone in the room groans in solidarity with Baugh and raises their glasses before taking a drink.  For the past couple hours the Blackwatch squad had been drinking and sharing stories about the one who got away.  It was common for the group of agents to unwind after missions like this and just talk into the late hours of the night.  It’s a good way to forgot about some of the stuff they’re required to do on the clock. 

McCree knows he’s not the only one that enjoys these moments.   Baugh always loves getting an opportunity to tell a usually highly embellished story.  Jackson loves getting an opportunity to break out her not so secret stash of good booze.  Even Reyes, despite his resting bitch face and quiet grumbling about having better things to do, loves just spending time with his agents.  McCree is a mix of all of them.  He loves the stories, the drinks, the company.  All of it reminds him of how much the Blackwatch agents have become a family over the past ten years.

“What about you, boss?” Jackson asks Reyes.

“Nah, I don’t have any sob stories like you pendejos,” Reyes says fondly. 

“That’s right.  How can someone who has The Golden Boy wrapped around his finger have a sob story?” Jackson fires back with a teasing laugh that ripples through the group.  A laugh that abruptly cuts off when Reyes levels them with a look that says ‘if you don’t stop now, tomorrow you’ll be running until you puke and then some’.

Jackson switches her attention to Jesse.  “You have to have one, McCree.  No one flirts as much as you do without a broken heart in their past.”   

McCree takes a long sip of his whiskey.  He had been sitting in the back, kind of hoping to get out of telling his own story.  It’s not that his story is painful or that he is too bitter about it.  Quite the opposite actually.  It’s just that these memories are ones that he holds close to his heart.  Precious, happy memories that he wanted to keep just to himself.  He’s selfish like that.

“Yea, I got one,” is all he offers, hoping that Jackson will drop it at that.

“Well come on, spill, cowboy.”

McCree takes another sip.  Doesn’t look like he’s getting out of this one.

“He was pretty as a picture, and had a mouth sharper than the sword he swung around to along with his looks.”

“Wait, an actual sword?” Wilson interjects.

“Katana actually, or somethin’ of the sorts.”

“Was he a ninja or something?  Where do you even find a ninja in this day and age?”

“Japan, of course.  And it was about seven years ago if that makes it any better.”

“It doesn’t, and I have a feeling you’re lying but you got me interested.”

“Well I ain’t lyin’ _culo_.  I got half a mind ta leave if ya ain’t gonna believe me.”

“No! You can’t leave, not after you already got all of us interested in how a cowboy got a ninja to fall for him.”

“Fine, fine, calm down.  It all started when I saw the most beautiful man in my life standing on that other side of an arcade, looking like he wanted to be anywhere but there.  So of course I took it upon myself to help him out.”

“Yea, of course you did, you selfless bastard.” Baugh says, cutting Jesse off.  Jesse shoots him a look whose intensity rivals Reyes, but without the heat.

“Anyways, as I was sayin’, I took it upon myself ta help the man out.  I walked over to him and gave him one of my best lines.  An’ ya know what he did?”

“He fell right over for you and you two made sweet love into the night?”

Jesse barks out a sharp laugh.  “Ha! I wish.  No, he looked me up an’ down, looked at me like he wanted absolutely nothin’ ta do with me, then walked away.  But ya know me, I ain’t one to back down from a challenge.  So I doubled down and went back ta that arcade as much as I could until I saw him again.”

“If only you put that much effort into your after-action reports.” Reyes grumbles from the back.

The squad laughs and Jesse brushes them off and continues his story. 

“Every time I saw him I waved and said hello.  At first he always ignored me but after a while he started waving’ back.  Then I struck up conversation as often as I could, though he almost never talked back, usually jus’ listened ta me ramble.  But when he did, god damn, he took no prisoners.  Had a perfect, witty remark or comeback fer everythin’ I said.  Also had the most deadly insults I have ever heard.  God help the person who crossed him or insulted him.  It was like playin’ with fire. 

“But it was all worth it when I finally got ta kiss him.  He pulled me up ta the top floor of the arcade where almost no one went, insulted my hat if ya can believe that, then kissed me breathless.”

“McCree, no one becomes your friend without insulting that ridiculous hat of yours,” says Baugh after knocking back the last of his drink.

“I came out ta have a good time but I’m feelin’ so attacked now.”  Jesse says with an incredulous face as he starts to rise out of his chair.  “This is what I get fer barin’ my soul ta you assholes.  I should go leave and find some real friends.”

“No no no no no, you haven’t finished yet.  Can’t leave until we get the whole story,” Baugh says as he pulls Jesse back into his chair.

“Fine, fine.  I found out he was a ninja the night he saved my life.  If ya remember, we were there tryin’ ta stop a gang war from breakin’ out an’ tearin’ the city apart.”

“Yea, I remember.  Some small time clan was trying to take the city out from under the Shimada clan.  What a shit show that turned out to be,” grumbles Reyes. 

“Well, one night when I was out doin’ recon on that new clan I guess I got a lil’ too close fer comfort ‘cuz they decided that I saw too much.  Managed to keep my cover as a lost tourist but couldn’t get them ta reconsider killin’ me.  Then, out’a nowhere, my love from the arcade showed up and killed them with his fancy sword.  Came out without a scratch on ‘im.”

“Wait,” Reyes interrupted.  “You told me you didn’t know who saved you.”

“Naw, I said a Good Samaritan saved me, didn’t say I didn’t know ‘im.”

“You idiot, when you say you get saved by a Good Samaritan its implied that you don’t know them.”

“Implied, but not certain,” Jesse counters.  “Anyways, he saved me, insulted my ability to stay out of trouble, then ran off again.  I knew at that point I was head o’er heels for that man.  And fer a couple more weeks I was in heaven.  We would meet in the arcade then he would drag me off ta somewhere new.”  Jesse remembers the parks, the Ramen shop, the museums, and everywhere else they visited.  He never had so much fun in his life than he did during those couple weeks.  But then the smile slid off his face and he took a deep breath to steady himself. 

“But as ya’ll know, people like us don’t get happy endin’s.  The last time I saw him was in that fuckin’ arcade.  He walked up ta me with this blank expression, it was impossible ta tell what he was thinkin’, an’ he told me that his family was getting’ suspisious of him sneakin’ out all the time and that he couldn’t do it anymore.  He couldn’t see me anymore. 

“I begged ‘im not ta disappear like that.  We still had a couple weeks left on the mission and I didn’t wanna saw goodbye yet.  But I couldn’t change his mind.  He kissed me one last time then left.  I went back to the arcade damn near every day but I never saw ‘im again.  Damn ninja stole my heart an’ forgot ta return it.”

“Huh,” said Reyes.  “So that’s why you were so moody those last couple weeks.  Sorry kid.”

Everyone in the room is quiet for a second, mourning the cowboy’s loss, before Jesse raises his glass and everyone copies him before taking a drink.  The chatter starts back up again as Jackson started telling her story, but Jesse tunes it out, suddenly not in the mood to talk with anyone.  A nudge to his leg causes him to look up and see Reyes holding out the bottle of whiskey towards him.  Jesse accepts it and the silent condolences attached to it with a wordless nod.  Reyes returns the nod and the two turn their attention back to the room. 

_Damn Hanzo, why’d ya have ta ruin me like that._


	2. Just The Way You Are

Hanzo stumbles out of the forest and into the grass clearing and curses at himself.  Once again he had been so distracted in his guilt that he failed to notice small encampment of people that now sit before him.  A couple people are sitting around a fire eating what smells like roasted rabbit and one of them is playing a stringed instrument that Hanzo recognizes from his childhood lessons, but whose name escapes him.  From the look of their clothes and meager possessions they look like wanderers, vagabonds, same as Hanzo.

Hanzo turns around, ready to return to the solitude of the forest, but his stomach growls and he is reminded how little luck he has had with hunting these past couple days.  The smell of the cooking rabbit overrides his common sense and he starts walking towards the strangers.  They don’t notice him until he is illuminated by the glow of the fire and when they get over their initial surprise they offer him smiles.

“Hello traveler, do you wish to join us?” says the one holding the instrument.  Hanzo nods and kneels down next to them.  They offer him some rabbit which he accepts with thanks.

“My name is Gorou,” says the same man.  He gestures to the other person sitting at the fire, who Hanzo notices is asleep.  “And that is Izume.  What is your name?”

“Ichiro,” Hanzo lies.

“It is nice to meet you.  If I may ask, what are you doing out here?”

Hanzo is silent for five… ten… thirty seconds.  “I am… trying to forget…”

Gorou nods, then starts plucking at his instrument again.  “Aren’t we all.  You are welcome to stay as long as you like friend.”

Gorou starts singing and playing a song that sounds familiar to Hanzo.  It takes him a second but he recognizes it as one he heard many times in his youth, a song about family and love.  His mother used to sing it to him and Genji many times. 

“That was very nice.”  Hanzo says when Gorou finishes. 

“Thank you, it was my wife’s favorite song before she passed.  I sing it every time I miss her.  Tell me, Ichiro, do you have someone you love?”

Hanzo pauses again, not sure if he wants to answer.  But he is tired, so tired, and these people are strangers.  It wouldn’t really matter if he told them.

“I have only loved three people in my life.  All of them are gone now,” Hanzo starts.  His throat it tight but he pushes past it to continue.  “My mother was a kind and caring woman.  She had a beauty that hid a fierce intellect that helped her survive in our world.  She would sing that song to my brother and I any time we were upset.  Every spring she would take us to the outskirts of the city to see the real sakura trees blossom.  She loved us fiercely, protected us, and always treated us as her sons first, not pawns.  Something I did not know to appreciate at the time.

“When she was dying she told me to take care of my brother, that I was the only one who could protect him now.  I did not understand what she meant, I was too young to, and by the time I did understand it was too late.  But until then I loved him and watched over him and tried to be there for him.   He had a free spirit and love for, well, everything, as long as it was not work or responsibilities.  He had a silver tongue that got him in and out of much trouble.  He was brave –foolish, but brave- for living how he wanted, and not how others wanted him to.  He was braver than I will ever be.”

Hanzo pauses and takes a moment to get rid of the shakiness in his voice.  He had no right to cry over his brother.

“I forgot what my mother told me and I forgot to protect him.  I became blinded by expectations, duty, and honor and I forgot that, above all, he was my brother.  His death was my fault and will carry that weight for the rest of my life.”

Hanzo’s voice seizes up and for a moment he can’t continue.  His mind replays that battle from four years ago and the memories threaten to drown him. 

Gorou stops playing.  “I am sorry for your losses.  It is a terrible thing to lose people who are so close to you and mean so much to you.”

The camp falls silent except for the crackling of the fire and Hanzo tries to compose himself.

“Who was the third person you spoke of?”

Hanzo forces his mind to focus on happier memories and a small smile appears on his face.

“He was a foreigner who visited my village for a couple months.  An actual American cowboy of all people.  I tried to keep him at a distance at first through silence but he was persistent and refused to leave me alone.  He never disrespected me or forced his way on to me and over time I found myself craving his presence.  His voice was smooth like honey and laced with an affection I had not heard since my mother passed. 

“With him, I was not my father’s son or my family’s heir.  I was just the boy who kissed him in the arcade out of impulse and dragged him around the city to my favorite places.  He had no expectations of me and it was… liberating.  I remember the first time I took him out to see the real sakura trees outside of the village.  His eyes lit up with brilliance of a thousand stars and for the first time since I had met him, he was speechless. 

“But that feeling I had with him, getting accustomed to it was like playing with fire.  I became addicted to its warmth and because of that I made a selfish decision that almost cost me everything.  I was conducting a business transaction for my father when I saw him in trouble.  I helped him without hesitation, risking the business deal and my own life.  My father and the elders later questioned what was so important that I would jeopardize our business and almost discovered my secret but I was able to deflect their suspicions.   I then realized I had no regrets over the way events transpired.  I would have given anything to save him time and time again.”

Gorou chuckled.  “Such is the way of young love, if I am not mistaken.”

“No, you are correct,” Hanzo affirmed, wearily.  “I was in love, and it scared me more than I was willing to admit.  My fear led me to make the decision to push him away.  It also led me to lie to him rather than be honest with him.  The last time I spoke with him I told him that my family had noticed me sneaking out all the time and so I could not do so anymore.  I could see how that hurt him but I was too much a coward to care.”

“I see.  That is very unfortunate but we all make mistakes.  Have you ever thought about finding him again?  I don’t imagine it would be too hard to find a cowboy in this age.”

“No.  I am not the same man I was back then.  I have done things, make mistakes, that are unforgivable.  It is too late for me.  Besides, I do not even know where to start looking for him.  In the end he was still a stranger.”

“My condolences, friend.”

A heavy silence falls over them and Hanzo feels the weight of all of his mistakes settle on his shoulders again.  Knowing he wouldn’t be getting any sleep tonight, he pulls out his gourd from his side and takes a long sip of the cheap sake inside.    He wouldn’t be forgetting these memories anytime soon, but maybe he could drown them for the time being.

**Author's Note:**

> Find me on tumblr at: cryptidhanzoshimada


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